GRH

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

Ah the good old days, maybe I should get my comping stick out, I think I can still read upside-down mirror and tie page cord tightly.

I still have a working copy of that, many good features on it.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

I feel quite nostalgic for those days, when icons were plain and simple and the interface easy to navigate. Now the software has to entertain you before you start work. It's become like supermarkets, they keep changing things around and you can never find what you want.

I feel quite nostalgic for those days, when icons were plain and simple and the interface easy to navigate. Now the software has to entertain you before you start work. It's become like supermarkets, they keep changing things around and you can never find what you want.

Yes, it is understandable from an engineering point of view, but that's not to say it's the best way of engineering it. Far from it. Other "suites" like Office and (shock) Adobe do it a different way to great success.
The ability to create, say, tables can only be done in Publisher but this is an artificial limit. I have a document with a able in that I open in Designer whenever I need to insert one in a document. After pasting it in, it's fully editable. So, yes three standalone apps with artificially limited functionality by choosing which apps get which UI elements.

I am NOT a professional. I never "studied" design. I am an amateur and learned a few things on my own. I use Affinity to do what I like. Some self publishing with Publisher. Some minor graphics work with Designer. Some photo touch-ups with Photo. I bought into the Affinity Suite, and would continue to buy into the suite based on 1 thing.... NO Subscriptions. The company was providing me the user wonderful tools to do what I enjoy doing.
 
This news is the worst thing I could have heard today. I am such a fan of Affinity. I loved the feel of the company. I loved the independence of the company. Now this is all gone. I have moved all of my projects (minor in comparison to some) into this suite of tools, based on the promise of "No Subscriptions". I have convinced others to purchase these tools, so that we could work together. And today, with this AWFUL news, the run with Affinity ends. Version 2 will still be available in perpetuity (until your computer doesn't work and v2 no longer works with the new operating systems). But version 3 will be subscription, and then we the users will pay for a garbage service with minor updates and very little push forward. "Oh look at what we've done in this month's update.... we finally fixed the kerning of the letters in the Edit menu that didn't look quite right." I've seen it with Adobe, I've seen it with Sibelius, and now I am seeing it with Affinity. What a shame. I feel I have been duped. I feel I have been betrayed. And I feel like I will be on the hunt for another Publisher type app, another Designer type app, and another Photo type app.
 
I just went to look at the Canva website. I felt even more disappointed and betrayed seeing their website, and even more worried about the developers at Affinity. The first thing it asks for without doing anything is to sign up for their subscription. Words cannot express how sad and frustrated I feel about this terrible decision.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

Canva have bought the company, it is theirs to do as they wish. If I sell you my car and get you to agree not to put cheap tyres on it and not go faster the 30mph, and you do, what can I do about it -  tell my mum? No company is going to allow itself to be handcuffed in any way when they buy a company lock, stock and barrel.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

I feel a caption competition coming on. First prize, a years subscription to the Canvafinity Suite, and 5000+ prizes of a Serif 'Plus' bundle.

First red flag I saw was 'To our amazing Affinity community,'
The second was 'I am thrilled to announce that ... ".
Which usually means 'We have been made an offer we can't refuse.'
A quick google brings "Canva has made its largest acquisition to date, likely spending more than $1 billion to buy professional design software company Serif to compete directly with Adobe as its prepares a long run at going public."
https://www.afr.com/technology/canva-s-billion-dollar-bet-on-a-37-year-old-nottingham-company-20240321-p5fea0
I'd certainly be thrilled to announce that (jingle jingle).
From the FAQ's ' Canva’s business model is subscription, are there any plans to change how Affinity is sold?'
Answer: 'There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, ... ', which likely means, after 'this time', uhmmm (whispers) 'yes.'
Affinity marks Canva’s latest Europe-based acquisition, joining Flourish (2022), Kaleido (2021), Smartmockups (2021), Pexels (2019) and Pixabay (2019). Canva opened their first European HQ in 2023, based in London.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240325965656/en/Canva-Acquires-Design-Platform-Affinity-to-Bring-Professional-Design-Tools-to-Every-Organization
Oh well, good bye and thanks for all the fish, it was great while it lasted.

Scribus is quite capable, it is at version 1.6.1; version 1.7.0 is in the pipeline and available as a beta.
Pageplus X9 is still superior in many ways to Affinity Publisher

Ah the good old days, maybe I should get my comping stick out, I think I can still read upside-down mirror and tie page cord tightly.